alt image
alt image
alt image
alt image
alt image

LEARNING CENTER

Optimize Your Inventory to Boost Profits Mid-Year

As the saying goes:

Idle stock quietly erodes your profits.

It lurks unseen, a silent drain. Without diligent oversight, it accumulates in the back storage, impacting your finances.

By the time you recognize the substantial capital locked in stagnant inventory, it might be too late for corrective actions.

Mid-year is crucial. This is your window to evaluate your inventory, streamline operations, and refine sales strategies—ahead of the holiday rush or further supply chain disruptions.

Why This Year’s Assessment is Critical

2025 presents unique challenges for inventory management.

Issues like escalating holding costs, tariff challenges, fluctuating demand, and last year’s "just in case" inventory philosophy have left many businesses with excess stock and reduced liquidity.

Here’s the silver lining:
Stock that moves slowly need not become unsaleable if addressed promptly.

Comprehensive Mid-Year Inventory Review

1. Complete a Thorough Inventory Audit

Physically verify your stock.

Go beyond system records to verify actual shelf counts.

Importance: If your records indicate 25 units while only 2 exist, your purchasing is already flawed. This process offers a precise reality check, preventing strategy based on inaccuracies.

2. Analyze Sales Velocity

Identify fast-sellers and lingering stock.

A sales velocity analysis pinpoints "slow-movers," generally defined as stock that hasn't moved in 90 to 180 days.

Takeaway: Items unsold for several months aren't merely "inventory"—they're liabilities.

3. Acknowledge Hidden Inventory Costs

Slow inventory not only ties capital but also:

  • Takes up valuable space

  • Increases insurance and storage expenses

  • Heightens risks of theft, damage, or becoming obsolete

  • Delays stocking profitable items

Prolonged holding costs more—even if paid for.

4. Identify True Dead Stock

Determine what's outdated, expired, or irrelevant.

Inventory languishing through multiple cycles without sales should be jettisoned.

Core Insight: Flag items unsold over six months as surplus, irrespective of personal fondness.

5. Strategize Mid-Year Sales or Exit Plans

Avoid a panic sale. Instead, consider:

  • Bundling with popular items

  • Executing time-limited sales

  • Offering exclusive promotions

  • Rebranding underperforming products

If stagnant stock persists:

Look into donating for potential tax benefits, liquidating, or repurposing before these items drain your resources further.

6. Leverage Insights for Enhanced Forecasting

Each unsold item has insights. Is it an expired trend? Has demand shifted? Or did the supplier oversell unnecessary stock?

Use these insights for better purchasing and forecasting in Q3 and Q4:

  • Purchase according to actual demand

  • Minimize surplus risk

  • Enhance cash flow

  • Focus on current sellers, not "maybes"

Extra Tip: Track Inventory Turnover

For those inclined towards data, monitor inventory turnover regularly.

Low turnover indicates trapped capital.
High turnover translates to improved cash flow, higher profits, and minimal wastage.

Understanding what sells quickest aids in ordering and promotional cycles.

In Conclusion: Master Inventory Control

Take command of your inventory rather than the other way around.

Whether managing a store, shipping from a garage, or navigating multiple locations, this is an opportunity to identify successful strategies and mitigate losses.

Because come December, it’ll be late to correct a problem seeded in July.

Need Professional Insight?

We assist entrepreneurs in evaluating inventory, uncovering fiscal opportunities, and crafting plans that safeguard profits throughout the year.

Let's refine your inventory management for greater impact.

Connect with us today.

Share this article...

Want tax & accounting tips and insights?

Sign up for our newsletter.

I confirm this is a service inquiry and not an advertising message or solicitation. By clicking “Submit”, I acknowledge and agree to the creation of an account and to the and .

Get In Touch With Cherokee CPA

You can count on us for professional, timely, and reliable tax and accounting services. If you’re ready to get started, just fill out this form and we’ll be in touch.

I confirm this is a service inquiry and not an advertising message or solicitation. By clicking “Submit”, I acknowledge and agree to the creation of an account and to the and .
I consent to receive SMS messages and agree with the